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Series 88

From Countdown
The Prize Presentation in the Grand Final of Series 88.
Harry Savage holding the Richard Whiteley Memorial Trophy after winning Series 88.

Series 88 is the most recently completed series of Countdown, and the fourth series to feature Colin Murray as presenter. It began on 30 June 2023 and concluded on 22 December 2023, when Harry Savage became the champion by beating Viraj Seelam in the final.

Apterites Tom Swain, Harry Savage, Sam Hughes, Dean Tulloch, Josh Lester, Niall Cusack, Ben Bazzard, James Doyle, Dean Whearty, Viraj Seelam and Lee McGookin appeared in this series, though Bazzard and McGookin joined after recording their heat appearances.

Episode 8056 was broadcast five minutes earlier at 14:05 to accommodate the live second practice of the 2023 British Grand Prix.

Former host Jeff Stelling appeared in Dictionary Corner for the week commencing 21 August, marking his first appearance on the show since he left as main presenter in 2011. In the third part of Episode 8091, he swapped with Murray to present the show throughout last 6 rounds of the game.

Six contestants became octochamps and all eight finalists amassed 700 points or more, with Savage being the only 900 club member of this series.

The finals of this series went completely true to the seedings (i.e. the higher seed always beat the lower seed, with no upsets).

Seed table

Rank Name Wins Points
1 Harry Savage 8 939
2 Viraj Seelam 8 867
3 Ben Bazzard 8 822
4 Paul O'Brien 8 781
5 George Baker 8 734
6 Caroline McManus 8 668
7 Rachel Copley 7 712
8 David Edwards 7 700
Since Series 60, players are sorted by number of wins, then by number of points. Points from both wins and losses count. Points from sudden death conundrums are not counted, and players with the same number of wins and points are sorted by the number of conundrums correctly guessed, then highest single-game score.

Progress

Harry Savage (1) vs David Edwards (8) Harry Savage (1) vs Paul O'Brien (4) Harry Savage (1)
vs
Viraj Seelam (2)
George Baker (5) vs Paul O'Brien (4)
Ben Bazzard (3) vs Caroline McManus (6) Ben Bazzard (3) vs Viraj Seelam (2)
Rachel Copley (7) vs Viraj Seelam (2)
The winner of each game is displayed in bold.

Episodes

# Date Type Contestant 1 Score Contestant 2 Presenters Guest Lex Max
8051 30/06/2023 P Adrian Clarke 75 – 54 Tom Saunders Colin Murray Rachel Riley Bob Harris Susie Dent 122
8052 03/07/2023 P Adrian Clarke 94 – 74 Mike Lott Colin Murray Rachel Riley Bob Harris Susie Dent 125
8053 04/07/2023 P Adrian Clarke 91 – 12 Harry Bayne Colin Murray Rachel Riley Bob Harris Susie Dent 119
8054 05/07/2023 P Adrian Clarke 82 – 65 Sheila McAdam Colin Murray Rachel Riley Bob Harris Susie Dent 123
8055 06/07/2023 P Adrian Clarke 65 – 85 David Edwards Colin Murray Rachel Riley Bob Harris Susie Dent 135
8056 07/07/2023 P David Edwards 83 – 59 Annie Sinclair Colin Murray Rachel Riley Rory Bremner Susie Dent 123
8057 10/07/2023 P David Edwards 100 – 70 Jake Wood Colin Murray Rachel Riley Rory Bremner Susie Dent 147
8058 11/07/2023 P David Edwards 86 – 46 Nayan Mistry Colin Murray Rachel Riley Rory Bremner Susie Dent 134
8059 12/07/2023 P David Edwards 74 – 58 Amy Jones Colin Murray Rachel Riley Rory Bremner Susie Dent 133
8060 13/07/2023 P David Edwards 84 – 76 Tim Rainer Colin Murray Rachel Riley Rory Bremner Susie Dent 128
8061 14/07/2023 P David Edwards 115 – 54 Ada Norman Colin Murray Rachel Riley Trevor Nelson Susie Dent 145
8062 17/07/2023 P David Edwards 73 – 82 Ian Watson Colin Murray Rachel Riley Trevor Nelson Susie Dent 124
8063 18/07/2023 P Ian Watson 66 – 90 James Jeans Colin Murray Rachel Riley Trevor Nelson Susie Dent 136
8064 19/07/2023 P James Jeans 74 – 89 Mark Brooks Colin Murray Rachel Riley Trevor Nelson Susie Dent 142
8065 20/07/2023 P Mark Brooks 90 – 68 Adrian Martin Colin Murray Rachel Riley Trevor Nelson Susie Dent 152
8066 21/07/2023 P Mark Brooks 73 – 63 Wendy Woodward Colin Murray Rachel Riley Neil Delamere Susie Dent 138
8067 24/07/2023 P Mark Brooks 77 – 69 Ben Cooper Colin Murray Rachel Riley Neil Delamere Susie Dent 133
8068 25/07/2023 P Mark Brooks 76 – 82 Hywel Jones Colin Murray Rachel Riley Neil Delamere Susie Dent 125
8069 26/07/2023 P Hywel Jones 96 – 59 Trevor Dawson Colin Murray Rachel Riley Neil Delamere Susie Dent 123
8070 27/07/2023 P Hywel Jones 87 – 63 Tom Swain Colin Murray Rachel Riley Neil Delamere Susie Dent 142
8071 28/07/2023 P Hywel Jones 77 – 65 Chess Slattery Colin Murray Rachel Riley John Thomson Susie Dent 122
8072 31/07/2023 P Hywel Jones 98 – 65 Alistair Miller Colin Murray Rachel Riley John Thomson Susie Dent 129
8073 01/08/2023 P Hywel Jones 86 – 65 Darren Cripps Colin Murray Rachel Riley John Thomson Susie Dent 132
8074 02/08/2023 P Hywel Jones 59 – 122 Harry Savage Colin Murray Rachel Riley John Thomson Susie Dent 135
8075 03/08/2023 P Harry Savage 119 – 52 Julie Quinn Colin Murray Rachel Riley John Thomson Susie Dent 147
8076 04/08/2023 P Harry Savage 119 – 30 David Byrne Colin Murray Rachel Riley Edith Bowman Susie Dent 131
8077 07/08/2023 P Harry Savage 121 – 79 Helen Ingelbrecht Colin Murray Rachel Riley Edith Bowman Susie Dent 157
8078 08/08/2023 P Harry Savage 105 – 51 Stephen O'Mara Colin Murray Rachel Riley Edith Bowman Susie Dent 125
8079 09/08/2023 P Harry Savage 108 – 74 Sam Hughes Colin Murray Rachel Riley Edith Bowman Susie Dent 133
8080 10/08/2023 P Harry Savage 115 – 47 Michael Cameron Colin Murray Rachel Riley Edith Bowman Susie Dent 123
8081 11/08/2023 P Harry Savage 130 – 21 Sandra Ring Colin Murray Rachel Riley Edith Bowman Susie Dent 134
8082 14/08/2023 P Ken Heaton 72 – 79 George Baker Colin Murray Rachel Riley Tom Read Wilson Susie Dent 141
8083 15/08/2023 P George Baker 92 – 0 Avi Sharma Colin Murray Rachel Riley Tom Read Wilson Susie Dent 123
8084 16/08/2023 P George Baker 82 – 45 Jen Finneran Colin Murray Rachel Riley Tom Read Wilson Susie Dent 144
8085 17/08/2023 P George Baker 89 – 78 Dudley Lidiard Colin Murray Rachel Riley Tom Read Wilson Susie Dent 126
8086 18/08/2023 P George Baker 90 – 35 Darryl Johnson Colin Murray Rachel Riley Tom Read Wilson Susie Dent 134
8087 21/08/2023 P George Baker 116 – 19 Anthea Leslie Colin Murray Rachel Riley Jeff Stelling Susie Dent 143
8088 22/08/2023 P George Baker 86 – 75 Will Gilchrist Colin Murray Rachel Riley Jeff Stelling Susie Dent 125
8089 23/08/2023 P George Baker 100 – 22 Dean Tulloch Colin Murray Rachel Riley Jeff Stelling Susie Dent 146
8090 24/08/2023 P Tricia Lowther 68 – 90 Scott McKechnie Colin Murray Rachel Riley Jeff Stelling Susie Dent 124
8091 25/08/2023 P Scott McKechnie 58 – 87 Rachel Copley Colin Murray Rachel Riley Jeff Stelling Susie Dent 127
8092 28/08/2023 P Rachel Copley 101 – 75 Barry Page Colin Murray Rachel Riley Ardal O'Hanlon Susie Dent 133
8093 29/08/2023 P Rachel Copley 73 – 49 Sandy Macdonald Colin Murray Rachel Riley Ardal O'Hanlon Susie Dent 133
8094 30/08/2023 P Rachel Copley 82 – 72 Josh Lester Colin Murray Rachel Riley Ardal O'Hanlon Susie Dent 137
8095 31/08/2023 P Rachel Copley 94 – 73 Joanne Deveney Colin Murray Rachel Riley Ardal O'Hanlon Susie Dent 136
8096 01/09/2023 P Rachel Copley 81 – 47 Ian Morris Colin Murray Rachel Riley Ardal O'Hanlon Susie Dent 123
8097 04/09/2023 P Rachel Copley 102 – 61 Helen Sanderson Colin Murray Rachel Riley Rick Edwards Susie Dent 124
8098 05/09/2023 P Rachel Copley 92 – 93 Talaha Modak Colin Murray Rachel Riley Rick Edwards Susie Dent 134
8099 06/09/2023 P Talaha Modak 85 – 74 Martin Byrne Colin Murray Rachel Riley Rick Edwards Susie Dent 136
8100 07/09/2023 P Talaha Modak 90 – 42 James Lee Colin Murray Rachel Riley Rick Edwards Susie Dent 144
8101 08/09/2023 P Talaha Modak 85 – 73 Dan O'Loughlin Colin Murray Rachel Riley Rick Edwards Susie Dent 141
8102 11/09/2023 P Talaha Modak 59 – 61 Lorraine Conway Colin Murray Rachel Riley Justin Moorhouse Susie Dent 132
8103 12/09/2023 P Lorraine Conway 75 – 89 Sunil Parmar Colin Murray Rachel Riley Justin Moorhouse Susie Dent 123
8104 13/09/2023 P Sunil Parmar 70 – 89 Paul O'Brien Colin Murray Rachel Riley Justin Moorhouse Susie Dent 121
8105 14/09/2023 P Paul O'Brien 90 – 74 Adam Kinsley Colin Murray Rachel Riley Justin Moorhouse Susie Dent 134
8106 15/09/2023 P Paul O'Brien 105 – 59 Steven Allen Colin Murray Rachel Riley Justin Moorhouse Susie Dent 132
8107 18/09/2023 P Paul O'Brien 80 – 64 Jack Shephard Colin Murray Rachel Riley Chris McCausland Susie Dent 135
8108 19/09/2023 P Paul O'Brien 110 – 100 Niall Cusack Colin Murray Rachel Riley Chris McCausland Susie Dent 121
8109 20/09/2023 P Paul O'Brien 104 – 62 Rory Nelson Colin Murray Rachel Riley Chris McCausland Susie Dent 125
8110 21/09/2023 P Paul O'Brien 103 – 16 Ravi Jay Colin Murray Rachel Riley Chris McCausland Susie Dent 136
8111 22/09/2023 P Paul O'Brien 100 – 74 John Blaker Colin Murray Rachel Riley Chris McCausland Susie Dent 127
8112 25/09/2023 P Richard Hendron 72 – 93 Ben Bazzard Colin Murray Rachel Riley Grace Dent Susie Dent 122
8113 26/09/2023 P Ben Bazzard 110 – 55 Alex Gordon Colin Murray Rachel Riley Grace Dent Susie Dent 122
8114 27/09/2023 P Ben Bazzard 83 – 69 Jenny Best Colin Murray Rachel Riley Grace Dent Susie Dent 136
8115 28/09/2023 P Ben Bazzard 100 – 55 Karl Niklas Colin Murray Rachel Riley Grace Dent Susie Dent 126
8116 29/09/2023 P Ben Bazzard 99 – 70 Pat Arnold Colin Murray Rachel Riley Grace Dent Susie Dent 145
8117 02/10/2023 P Ben Bazzard 107 – 38 David Ashton Colin Murray Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 136
8118 03/10/2023 P Ben Bazzard 119 – 73 Joanna Neville Colin Murray Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 145
8119 04/10/2023 P Ben Bazzard 111 – 54 David Whittington-Bradley Colin Murray Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 132
8120 05/10/2023 P Paul Stopforth 80 – 42 Nathan Young Colin Murray Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 134
8121 06/10/2023 P Paul Stopforth 61 – 66 Adrian Weston Colin Murray Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 134
8122 09/10/2023 P Adrian Weston 75 – 51 James Doyle Colin Murray Rachel Riley Levi Roots Susie Dent 143
8123 10/10/2023 P Adrian Weston 59 – 63 Philip Goodwin Colin Murray Rachel Riley Levi Roots Susie Dent 124
8124 11/10/2023 P Philip Goodwin 85 – 49 Stephanie Mitchell Colin Murray Rachel Riley Levi Roots Susie Dent 152
8125 12/10/2023 P Philip Goodwin 83 – 47 Colm Kelly Colin Murray Rachel Riley Levi Roots Susie Dent 124
8126 13/10/2023 P Philip Goodwin 71 – 56 Mark Wainwright Colin Murray Rachel Riley Levi Roots Susie Dent 137
8127 16/10/2023 P Philip Goodwin 65 – 102 Fran Orford Colin Murray Rachel Riley John Virgo Susie Dent 121
8128 17/10/2023 P Fran Orford 88 – 72 Max Bougeard Colin Murray Rachel Riley John Virgo Susie Dent 144
8129 18/10/2023 P Fran Orford 102 – 22 Andy Merritt Colin Murray Rachel Riley John Virgo Susie Dent 144
8130 19/10/2023 P Fran Orford 72 – 88 Barry Wood Colin Murray Rachel Riley John Virgo Susie Dent 132
8131 20/10/2023 P Barry Wood 92* – 82 Richard Hillier Colin Murray Rachel Riley John Virgo Susie Dent 134
8132 23/10/2023 P Barry Wood 93 – 54 John Finnan Colin Murray Rachel Riley Mark Watson Susie Dent 156
8133 24/10/2023 P Barry Wood 74 – 77 Lor Brookfield Colin Murray Rachel Riley Mark Watson Susie Dent 127
8134 25/10/2023 P Lor Brookfield 71 – 78 Caroline McManus Colin Murray Rachel Riley Mark Watson Susie Dent 133
8135 26/10/2023 P Caroline McManus 73 – 68 Gary McDonald Colin Murray Rachel Riley Mark Watson Susie Dent 136
8136 27/10/2023 P Caroline McManus 97 – 67 Luke Billington Colin Murray Rachel Riley Mark Watson Susie Dent 133
8137 30/10/2023 P Caroline McManus 74 – 35 Anne Hughes Colin Murray Rachel Riley Ben Hanlin Susie Dent 137
8138 31/10/2023 P Caroline McManus 101 – 37 Mark Roberts Colin Murray Rachel Riley Ben Hanlin Susie Dent 125
8139 01/11/2023 P Caroline McManus 87 – 60 Andrew Newman Colin Murray Rachel Riley Ben Hanlin Susie Dent 127
8140 02/11/2023 P Caroline McManus 67 – 63 Dean Whearty Colin Murray Rachel Riley Ben Hanlin Susie Dent 135
8141 03/11/2023 P Caroline McManus 91 – 71 Heather Telfer Colin Murray Rachel Riley Ben Hanlin Susie Dent 139
8142 06/11/2023 P Jill Leatherbarrow 77 – 57 Matt Dent Colin Murray Rachel Riley Tanni Grey-Thompson Susie Dent 124
8143 07/11/2023 P Jill Leatherbarrow 79 – 29 Ross Brown Colin Murray Rachel Riley Tanni Grey-Thompson Susie Dent 122
8144 08/11/2023 P Jill Leatherbarrow 63 – 113 Viraj Seelam Colin Murray Rachel Riley Tanni Grey-Thompson Susie Dent 144
8145 09/11/2023 P Viraj Seelam 92 – 46 Rachel Broadbridge Colin Murray Rachel Riley Tanni Grey-Thompson Susie Dent 126
8146 10/11/2023 P Viraj Seelam 109 – 46 Stephen Morris Colin Murray Rachel Riley Tanni Grey-Thompson Susie Dent 157
8147 13/11/2023 P Viraj Seelam 103 – 78 Norman Dalgleish Colin Murray Rachel Riley Claire Richards Susie Dent 135
8148 14/11/2023 P Viraj Seelam 110 – 34 Lynda Fenton Colin Murray Rachel Riley Claire Richards Susie Dent 129
8149 15/11/2023 P Viraj Seelam 109 – 26 Dave Coot Colin Murray Rachel Riley Claire Richards Susie Dent 131
8150 16/11/2023 P Viraj Seelam 125 – 48 Annemaire Gayle Colin Murray Rachel Riley Claire Richards Susie Dent 146
8151 17/11/2023 P Viraj Seelam 106 – 68 Daniel Green Colin Murray Rachel Riley Claire Richards Susie Dent 125
8152 20/11/2023 P Dave Nickeas 105 – 67 Cliona O'Reilly Colin Murray Rachel Riley Daliso Chaponda Susie Dent 126
8153 21/11/2023 P Dave Nickeas 71 – 72 Stuart Kerr Colin Murray Rachel Riley Daliso Chaponda Susie Dent 125
8154 22/11/2023 P Stuart Kerr 91 – 81 Lee McGookin Colin Murray Rachel Riley Daliso Chaponda Susie Dent 133
8155 23/11/2023 P Stuart Kerr 92 – 89 Jamie King Colin Murray Rachel Riley Daliso Chaponda Susie Dent 127
8156 24/11/2023 P Stuart Kerr 108 – 38 David Haxton Colin Murray Rachel Riley Daliso Chaponda Susie Dent 135
8157 27/11/2023 P Stuart Kerr 74 – 76 Paul Steeples Colin Murray Rachel Riley Richard Coles Susie Dent 137
8158 28/11/2023 P Paul Steeples 81 – 82 Andy Russell Colin Murray Rachel Riley Richard Coles Susie Dent 133
8159 29/11/2023 P Andy Russell 55 – 56 Liz Blower Colin Murray Rachel Riley Richard Coles Susie Dent 134
8160 30/11/2023 P Liz Blower 65 – 73 Naomi Raanan Colin Murray Rachel Riley Richard Coles Susie Dent 133
8161 01/12/2023 P Naomi Raanan 65 – 75 JJ Burrows Colin Murray Rachel Riley Richard Coles Susie Dent 146
8162 04/12/2023 P JJ Burrows 84 – 80 Rob Richards Colin Murray Rachel Riley Bob Harris Susie Dent 128
8163 05/12/2023 P JJ Burrows 106 – 38 Sue Mann Colin Murray Rachel Riley Bob Harris Susie Dent 136
8164 06/12/2023 P JJ Burrows 70 – 49 Gareth Munson Colin Murray Rachel Riley Bob Harris Susie Dent 135
8165 07/12/2023 P JJ Burrows 115 – 10 Chris Ritchie Colin Murray Rachel Riley Bob Harris Susie Dent 155
8166 08/12/2023 P JJ Burrows 81 – 93 Mark Goodliffe Colin Murray Rachel Riley Bob Harris Susie Dent 137
8167 11/12/2023 P Mark Goodliffe 117 – 41 Nicola Lawson Colin Murray Rachel Riley Marcus Brigstocke Susie Dent 122
8168 12/12/2023 P Mark Goodliffe 94 – 38 Paul Woodward Colin Murray Rachel Riley Marcus Brigstocke Susie Dent 120
8169 13/12/2023 P Mark Goodliffe 95 – 89 Jill Davies Colin Murray Rachel Riley Marcus Brigstocke Susie Dent 133
8170 14/12/2023 QF Harry Savage 118 – 58 David Edwards Colin Murray Rachel Riley Marcus Brigstocke Susie Dent 145
8171 15/12/2023 QF Viraj Seelam 103 – 59 Rachel Copley Colin Murray Rachel Riley Marcus Brigstocke Susie Dent 123
8172 18/12/2023 QF Ben Bazzard 124 – 61 Caroline McManus Colin Murray Rachel Riley Christopher Biggins Susie Dent 143
8173 19/12/2023 QF Paul O'Brien 100 – 97 George Baker Colin Murray Rachel Riley Christopher Biggins Susie Dent 139
8174 20/12/2023 SF Harry Savage 104 – 70 Paul O'Brien Colin Murray Rachel Riley Christopher Biggins Susie Dent 125
8175 21/12/2023 SF Viraj Seelam 98 – 74 Ben Bazzard Colin Murray Rachel Riley Christopher Biggins Susie Dent 114
8176 22/12/2023 GF Harry Savage 105 – 77 Viraj Seelam Colin Murray Rachel Riley Christopher Biggins Susie Dent 133
* includes 10 points from a tiebreak conundrum

External Links